Friday, September 14, 2007

Camp officially opened today, and already the Hurricanes are banged up.

Andrew Ladd is still nursing some undisclosed injury and did not skate today.

Newcomer Jeff Hamilton is also out with an undisclosed injury. What is this? The playoffs? What's this "undisclosed injury" thing? Forslund suspects that it's a groin problem. Nothing is known about when or if he'll be ready.

Frantisek Kaberle is working his way back to shape after having some knee surgery this summer. He's almost there.

Add Sharpie to the list. He caught a rut and threw his knee all out of whack. They're tentatively putting a window of 3-6 weeks on his return.

Opening night is still more than two weeks away, but with Ladd, Hamilton and LaRose all out, the Hurricanes need some answers. Trevor Letowski just got a free pass out of the press box and onto the fourth line. Suddenly, the idea of Brendon Sutter being offered a 10-day trial doesn't seem so far-fetched.

As a commenter rightfully pointed out, Sutter is too young to legally play in the AHL, so Albany isn't even an option. If you're under 20, that's the way it works. It's either the NHL, or back to your junior club. In his case, it would be the Red Deer Rebels. The team will still be owned by his dad, but obviously, Brent will be too busy coaching the New Jersey Devils to continue coaching the Rebels.

Word on the street is that Sutter was having a hard time with the drills and that Harrison Reed looked way better than he did. Obviously, Keith Aucoin and Dave Gove are good choices for call-ups. They both shuttled between Raleigh and Albany last season, with Aucoin being the more impressive of the two. Aucoin put up a very impressive 99 (27/72) points in just 65 games with the River Rats and added a lone assist in eight appearances with the Canes last season.

So the season will start with Sharpie on the shelf. It doesn't sound like Ladd and Hamilton have serious injuries, so they should be there. On the blue line, Hedican's status is still mysterious and Kaberle is on the mend. Snuggles Tanabe opted to attend the Blues camp instead of the Canes.

To fill LaRose's void, my money is on Aucoin. They're almost identical anyway. Both are tiny guys, standing five nine and weighing in at about 185 pounds. Both are very hard working guys with a surprising level of physical, scrappy play.

Still, though, the fans will be very interested in the way Sutter develops during camp.

I'm really looking forward to the first preseason game. Who wants to meet for beers?

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